Ten Years From Now
by CamsthiSky
Summary: Tsuna let out a small exhale of frustration, but nodded anyway. The man, seeing the go-ahead, picked up a single sheet of paper and began to read the first question. "Where do you see yourself in ten years?" In which Tsuna doesn't know how to make an important decision. One-shot


**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR. Never have, never will.**

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"So..." The counselor trailed off, squinting at the paper in front of him again. "Tsunayoshi-san. Do you know why you're here today?"

Tsuna shook his head quickly, fidgeting nervously in the hard plastic chair across from the guidance counselor. The man's eyes narrowed slightly and he adjusted his glasses, tapping the large manila folder with two fingers, giving Tsuna a stern look.

The young mafia heir tried to swallow past the foreign lump in his throat. If he had known that high school was going to be so nerve wracking, he would have opted to stay in Italy for another month.

The counselor, who had yet to grace Tsuna with a name, hummed disapprovingly. "At the beginning of the school year, we tend to bring in the new students and evaluate their potential future success based on their grades and school performance in their last schools."

Tsuna mouthed a silent 'oh', understanding the reason why the counselor was looking down his nose at him. Tsuna's grades had never been anywhere close to perfect and with the kind of people he associated with on a daily basis, Tsuna was positive that the folder must hold the extensive list of horrible assessments and property damages that he had accumulated over the past few years. And even if Tsuna was wrong, the brunet knew the folder probably didn't hold anything good.

The counselor leaned forward suddenly, looking over his wire-framed glasses coolly.

"Understand, Sawada-san, that you are walking a very thin line here," he said, gesturing to the folder's contents. Tsuna didn't miss the switch from first name to last, either. This guy wasn't messing around. "You were accepted into this school on the technicality that you would get your grades up and start behaving like a _normal_ student."

_A normal student?!_

What the hell was that supposed to mean? Hidden under the desk, Tsuna clenched his fists in frustration. Oh how he wanted to let his temper get away with him, but Tsuna knew that it would do no good. This man knew nothing of the world that Tsuna lived in and the dangers that he was forced to face every day. Tsuna had left normal behind the day he was first shot with the Dying Will Bullet.

"So, Sawada-san. Now that we have made that clear, let's go ahead with the evaluation, yes?"

Tsuna let out a small exhale of frustration, but nodded anyway. The man, seeing the go-ahead, picked up a single sheet of paper and began to read the first question.

"Where do you see yourself in ten years?"

Tsuna burst into raucous laughter that was not at _all_ suited for a serious evaluation about his future with the snooty counselor. But he couldn't help it. The question was just too absurd and downright relatable. Where did he see himself in ten years?

The counselor slammed his palms down on the wooden desk, standing from his chair to loom over Tsuna, who was bent over himself trying to stifle the laughter that just wouldn't seem to stop.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi!" the man barked, completely red in the face. "This is not the time for your strange and childish behavior!"

Tsuna twitched but managed to swallow back his laughter, realizing his mistake a little too late. This man meant business. He coughed in embarrassment and sat up straight.

"R-Right," Tsuna said, bowing his head apologetically. "Sorry about that. I don't know what came over me."

The counselor huffed and plopped back into his chair. "Just answer the question, Sawada."

"R-Right. Um, in ten years, I see myself..."

Tsuna trailed off, realizing for the first time that he didn't actually know. He had two choices, but he only knew what lay ahead down the mafia path. If he accepted the position, he would eventually become the tenth boss of the Vongola Family, leaving behind Namimori, moving to Italy, and taking over the duties of the Ninth.

But what of his other option? Tsuna had travelled ten years into the future and seen what one of his options could have been, but if he chose a different path? What would he do if he chose not to follow the path of being a mafia boss? Despite its dangers, without the mafia, Tsuna would be nothing. Just Dame-Tsuna. He would still be a loser without any friends, always failing at something or another.

Tsuna stopped breathing as the realization crashed into him. He couldn't go on like this. One day, he would have to choose whether or not he would take over the Vongola. And if it looked like today was that day.

"Sawada," the counselor growled, tapping his fingers against the desk. "I'm wait-"

The door to the office slammed open. Tsuna jumped up in surprise, wondering what the heck could be the problem he was going to have to deal with now.

Gokudera stood in the open doorway, panting in what Tsuna understood to be agitation, not exhaustion. "TENTH!"

"Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna asked, moving towards his guardian, his mind recognizing that this was _not_ the regular doting Gokudera.

One of the Storm's hands fiddled with his belt buckle while his other ran through his silver hair. Gokudera took a few steps toward Tsuna, looking like he wanted to grab his boss's hand and run very far away from here. Instead all he said was, "They're here for you Decimo."

Tsuna understood the hidden message immediately. Unfortunately—or maybe it was fortunately—the counselor did not. "Young man!" the counselor roared. "This is a private session and you are not allowed in here!"

The counselor's cry fell on deaf ears. Tsuna nodded at the silver-haired teen, entering what Yamamoto jokingly called his "boss mode".

"Find the others," Tsuna told Gokudera. "Stall."

Gokudera was gone within seconds, leaving the door wide open.

"Honestly," the counselor grumbled, adjusting his glasses, "this is a private session and as a school guidance counselor I-"

"Had no right to belittle me and put me down."

"Wha-?" The counselor was taken off guard by the suddenness of Tsuna's statement. He reminded the brunet of a bird with its feathers ruffled. "What are you talking about, Sawada? Sit down so we can continue where we left off! You still need to answer my question!"

Tsuna bit his lip, attempting to keep his angry retort to himself. It would do no good for Tsuna to upset his counselor his second day of high school, but on the other hand, he really did need to go take care of the situation Gokudera had warned him of.

Sighing, Tsuna walked back to his chair, but did not sit. "Look. Where do I see myself in ten years? The truth is, I really don't have an answer. All I know is that I'm planning on staying with my friends." Tsuna shook his head. "I'm not going to worry too much about it yet. I'm confident that I'll find the answer in time. But today, I'm going to do what's best for me and my friends. And that is being with them and protecting them with my dying will."

With those words, Tsuna whirled around and walked confidently out of the office, leaving behind a stuttering mess of the school guidance counselor.

That's the day Tsuna decided that he saw himself ten years from now laughing with his friends—his _family_. And he figured that being a mafia might not be so bad if he had his precious guardians beside him.

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**Okay, so I saw a post on tumblr about a guidance counselor asking a question about where Tsuna saw himself ten years in the future and then this came out. It was meant to be a lot more...humorous. But oh well. I'm satisfied with how this turned out. Let me know what you thought!**

**Also, a big thanks to my friend for reminding me to put all of my KHR stories on a flash drive before going out of state. Because of that, I will be updating War Torn either today or tomorrow!**


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